AQUA Cultured Foods Debuts its Unique, Raw ‘Tuna’ at Chicago Michelin Restaurant
After achieving GRAS status earlier this year, AQUA Cultured Foods‘ long-awaited, fermentation-derived alternatives to raw seafood have finally launched into foodservice. Mama Delia, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Chicago owned by Chef Marcos Campos Sanchez, has introduced AQUA Tuna as part of the restaurant’s ‘Atún Crudo’ (raw tuna) dish. The dish comes with potato strings and fried eggs, but it can be vegan upon request. Atún Crudo is just …
Friends & Family & Novel Farms to Launch Cultivated Meat Products for Pets by 2025
California’s Friends & Family Pet Food Co., a startup developing feed options with sustainable proteins, is collaborating with Novel Farms, a cell ag startup also based in California, to introduce cultivated meat products for dogs and cats. Reportedly, the companies are in the testing and prototyping stages, aiming for a product line launch in 2025, targeting the San Francisco Bay Area. The resulting pet food products will combine cultivated meat with …
MeliBio Secures Strategic Investment to Transform the Honey Industry
US-based bee-free honey producer MeliBio has received a strategic investment from Future Food Fund, a venture capital arm of Japanese food distributor Oisix. The funding will be used to fuel MeliBio’s mission of transforming the honey industry. MeliBio’s bee-free honey is made using plant science and precision fermentation. By producing honey without invasive honey bees, the product helps to protect wild bee populations, which are vital for preserving biodiversity and …
Massachusetts Backs Tufts University With $2.1M for New Cell Ag Center While Nebraska Pushes for Beef Protection
The Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) have awarded $2,136,711 to the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) to establish the Foodtech Engineering for Alternative Sustainable Technologies (FEAST) center. FEAST aims to advance cellular agriculture research at Tufts, with a specific focus on cultivated meat and other cell-based products. The center will include cutting-edge equipment and a test kitchen, providing infrastructure for prototyping and evaluating cellular agriculture products. …
The Better Meat Co. Expands to Asia with Singapore Approval for Rhiza Mycoprotein
California’s The Better Meat Co. (BMC) announces it has received approval from the Singapore Food Authority to sell its flagship, single-ingredient Rhiza mycoprotein in the country. The approval confirms that Neurospora crassa, the fungi genus that BMC uses in its biomass fermentation process to make the mycoprotein, is safe for human consumption. Neurospora crassa has been traditionally used in Asian foods such as tempeh and oncom, but it has never been used …
Jellatech Unveils Updated Brand to Showcase Cell-Based Collagen Solutions for Health and Longevity
Jellatech, a US biotech startup pioneering the development of cell-based collagen, announces the launch of its updated brand and website. As stated by the company, the new rebrand has been designed to showcase its mission to revolutionize biomedical applications with “cutting-edge” human-identical proteins, beginning with Type 1 collagen. Jellatech says these proteins enable breakthroughs in tissue regeneration, injectable aesthetics, cell and gene therapy, and various therapeutic applications. Founder and CEO …
Liberation Labs to Advance Precision Fermentation Facility with $3.5M Fundraise
US biomanufacturing company Liberation Labs has raised $3.5 million via a Secured Promissory Note (“Note”), including a $2.0 million subscription from the VC firm Agronomics Limited (LSE: ANIC). With this note, Agronomics’ total investment in the precision fermentation company amounts to $19.6 million, holding 37.5% on a fully diluted basis. Other participants in the fundraising, each contributing $0.5 million, include New Agrarian Company Limited (an affiliate of Agronomics), Galloway Limited, …
Fermify Secures US GRAS Status for Fermented Casein, Animal-Free Dairy Tastings on Horizon
Fermify, an Austrian precision fermentation company developing milk proteins, announces it has obtained self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for its precision-fermented casein after conducting a comprehensive safety study, as per FDA requirements. The GRAS milestone validates the quality and safety of Fermify’s casein and is crucial for introducing animal-free cheese and dairy products to the US market. It also positions Fermify as one of the few suppliers of …
Chocolate Giant Puratos Makes Strategic Investment in California Cultured’s Cell-Based Cacao
California Cultured, a startup pioneering plant cell culture to produce cacao, has received an undisclosed investment from Sparkalis, the food tech venture arm of the Belgian international group Puratos. The new capital will fund the startup’s scaling operations at an upcoming new facility (currently under construction) to bring a cell-based cocoa powder product to the market. Filip Arnaut, managing director of Sparkalis, commented: “At Sparkalis, we seek out visionary startups …
Bene Meat Technologies Unveils “Cutting-Edge” Cell Bank, Seeks FDA Approval for Cultivated Pet Food
Czech cultivated meat startup Bene Meat Technologies (BMT) has unveiled what it describes as a cutting-edge cell bank, for the long-term supply of cells for cultivating different meat products. Developed over extensive research, the cell bank grants access to a sufficient quantity and variety of cells for research and production. It holds over 5,000 samples of high-quality primary cells from various species taken from small tissue samples, minimizing animal impact. …